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Thursday, 7 June 2007

The right age for marriage

What's the right age for marriage?

I'm asking this question because I had a conversation with a guy yesterday who said if he was the president of this country, he would establish a law mandating women to wait till they are at least 30 years old before getting married. I asked him why he felt that way and he said people need to be clear about where they want to go in life before making a commitment as critical and as all-encompassing as marriage. And most girls in their 20's haven't figured out where they want to go in life. So when they get married, in ignorance, take their husbands and their marriages for granted.

He said girls in their 20's don't take marriage seriously, they feel they are still young so can afford to still play around and are always of the opinion that they can easily find someone else if the marriage doesn't work out, so don't put much of an effort in making it work.

He said he has found that women who marry young are seldom prepared for marital roles. These young girls don't know the first thing about taking care of a home and most times aren't ready to learn, thus most men married to them aren't happy. Because they give more than they get from their wives....

He also said most girls who marry in their 20's always marry for the wrong reasons. Either under the illusion of being inlove (when they don't know the first thing about love), or to show off to their friends or just for material gains/security.

But according to him, a woman in her thirties isn't looking to show off, show off to who when all her mates are married. And they always get married for the right reasons (whatever they are). He said if we observe carefully, most of the rich men getting married nowadays are marrying very young girls. If you check the husbands of women who got married in their 30's, they are usually average guys because these women have gone past caring about wealth, all they want now is to be a wife and a mother...they feel time is longer on their side.

He said a woman makes a marriage and the chances for a stable marriage increase when the woman has reached the age of 30. He said women over 30 are more mature and ready to shoulder the responsibilities that come with marriage. Their maturity make the marriage bearable.

He also said a woman who has waited till in her thirties without finding a man, and feels time is running out for her will be humble and submissive to her husband when she eventually finds one, because she knows how long it took to search and find so would appreciate what she has and will do everything to make it work.

I don't know if I agree with this school of thought, but when you really think about it, maybe this guy has a point?

For me, I think the right time for marriage is after taking seriously into consideration the need to wait until you have personally developed yourself and life goals. After you have established this, your selection of a life partner and readiness for marriage will be based on the grown up you. Now you are mature, educated, earning a living etc...

If you have reached this level at 25, 26, 27 years of age, then you are ready for marriage. Some people are over 30 and are still lost, immature, selfish and not ready for marriage. So I don't think it's about age, it's about the maturity of the mind, experiences, defined goals and needs, independence, discovering yourself and willingness to learn...Marriage is not about age, it's about the mind!

So what do you guys think? When is the right age for a woman to marry?

By the way, my younger sis thinks the right age for a woman to marry is the age when she finds a man who wants to marry her...lol. she's been slapped, dont worry...

Naija Gists

Girl Power Unleashed donate to Girls Remand HomeThe makers of Tetmosol, JagalPharma, makers of Tetmosol Medicated Soap and sponsors of Girl Power Unleashed made a donation of N400, 000 to the girls remand home on Ojerinde Street, IdiAraba, Lagos. The GPU members were on hand to present the cash and perform for the girls. This followed the Girl Power Unleashed cheque presentation at the Little Saints Orphanage a few weeks ago.

Weird MC's new single

Weird MC's follow up single in her yet-to-be titled third album, 'Ri Ran Wo' (What does this mean?) is set to hit radio stations on July 9th 2007 which happens to be Weird's birthday and also the day her record label, 0907, is named. All you Weird MC fans, expect that in a few days...

Top Juju singer, Yinka Ayefele releases fourth album

Yinka Ayefele, one of the few artistes in Nigeria trying hard to keep Juju music alive, just released his fourth album titled 'Celebration'. The 12 track album was launched on Sunday 27th of May in Lagos. So all you juju fans...here's an album for you. It's now in stores in Nigeria.

Former Kush member, TY Bello, set to release a solo albumToyin TY Bello, former group member of the girl group that rocked Nigeria some years ago, is set to release her much awaited solo album titled 'Greenland'. The album has tracks like 'Supernatural Funnies', 'Ride with me', and 'Atoned'. TY is also a portrait photographer. I wish her all the best in her endeavours

DJ Jimmy Jatt speaks"I have a programme called Jimmy's Jump Off which is syndicated on MBI, STV, and NTA which is a DJ video mix show. It has been rated highly just in the first quarter. It's a basically going to be on old school raves, club parties like a mobile station. Then also I have to finish my album and proove to the world that I'm never going to retire from this job. I wanna own my own club, own my own private radio station, I want to start a record label. I don't want to limit myself"

Nollywood convention holds in the US

The Nollywood foundation, an incorporated non-profit organisation will be holding a seminar convention this year from June 15th to 17th at the Omni Hotel LosAngeles. The theme of the workshop is 'Emerging talent and technologies' with Mr. Danny Glover, a top Hollywood actor as special guest of honour. This year's workshop will feature creative, practical, intelligent and fun workshops and panels with personalities from Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood who will be speaking on issues such as technology, pre and post production, directing, financing, distributing, sound, photography, fashion and beauty and screenwriting.

Gulder Ultimate Search to hold in Jos

The city of Jos is getting ready to play host to the next edition of the Gulder Ultimate Searc, the reality show sponsored by Nigerian Breweries Plc. The previous editions of the ultimate search were held at Snake Island in Lagos, Obudu Cattle Ranch in Calabar and Nifor in Benin. Jos as picked this year based on the need to move the reality show across the lenght and breadth of Nigeria. Jos has some of the best sceneries in Nigeria.

Aki and Pawpaw Foundation

Some of you might not know this but the duo of Aki and Paw Paw (ChineduIkedieze and OsitaIheme) have a foundation. Their foundation will focus on the needy and the less priviledged, targeting the orphans. They are set to put up a series of concerts to raise money for their foundation...commendable!

Pat Utomi's niece AweleOkwudihu launches book.Pat Utomi's niece, Awele, recently launched her first book 'Comforting Arms'. She also had the inauguration of her not-for-profit organisation, Likemind Zone (LMZ). Awele, who is also a motivational speaker, is currently running a campaign to promote reading culture amongst young people. She also has a programme called Cradle Treasure. Awele is apparently heading for the top and she has the support of her uncle to depend on...

Also, history was made yesterday in Nigeria as a woman emerged the first female speaker of the House Of Representative...Patricia OlubunmiEtteh from Osun State, ...this gladdens my heart...

Former Governor and Senator, David Mark, is the new Senate President...

Also, gist merchant, Stella-dimokokorkus.blogspot.com, has deleted her blog...sad huh? I guess blogging is not easy...but she's promised to come back, bigger and better....later!

Tuesday, 5 June 2007

Developing a thick skin.

My younger sister got back from a salon this evening and told me something she found odd, but I found amusing. Apparently, the girls in the salon were talking about a certain Linda, at first she didn't know they were talking about her big sis, until someone mentioned my surname...she said she heard stuff that stunned her. It got to a point where she was wondering if they were actually talking about me or another Linda.

She eventually did ask them which linda they were talking about and they described me, my career and even talked about my blog and modeling agency. Then my sis asked them if they have ever met me and they replied no! She let them say and listened carefully but as she was leaving the salon, she turned to the girls and said that was my sister you were talking about but I'm not angry because you are talking out of ignorance, if you know her, you would not have said any of the things you said...

I used to care so much about what people think and say about me, until I came across the word 'Bias', and realised that people will think and say whatever they want, regardless of what you say and who you really are.

The first time I was written about as a model was in 1999 by my late publicist, Kayode fayemi, and after that first write up, I became one of the first celebrated models in Nigeria. In those days no journalist was interested in interviewing models, if you weren't an actress, musician, socialite, nobody wanted to hear what you had to say...models weren't celebrities.

But with time, we started getting recognition. We started getting Magazine front covers, headlines, interviews on TV etc. People started asking for autographs...it was cool until some people started believing that reading about you was enough for them to tell the KIND of person you are. They now think they KNOW you.

I've heard all kinds of things said behind my back and some to my face...I've heard people say I'm an 'aristo' babe, heard that I slept my way to the top, heard that I have men giving me money because I have a mag and run my own business...sad story!

Because you are a model, they think you are wayward...it doesn't matter what you say, they will believe what makes them happy. When they don't see you around town with men, they conclude that you are doing your thing underground, they'll believe anything but the truth that you are just a decent girl doing decent things.

I remember reading several articles about Genevieve Nnaji. Alot of people speculated she was dating a top politician who was spoiling her with money. All these rumour started after she bought a jeep and moved to the Lekki area of Lagos. No one cared to remember she was a top actress, making alot of money and also got paid millions of naira for her Lux advert. If you are successful, have your own business, they automatically think there's an alhaji bankrolling you. Once again, Sad!

Whenever I heard those hurtful things, I used to always try to explain myself to anyone who cared to listen, hoping to convince someone that I'm not that 'kind' of girl. But then I realised that when you allow people's opinion matter so much to you, especially if they have nothing good to say about you, you're only making life more difficult for yourself.

I also realised that people like to think negative of others because it makes them feel good about themselves, especially if they think they have failed in their own lives...if they haven't achieved anything at all, and they feel that you have, they try to make themselves feel better by believing that you did something unholy to achieve success, so why bother with what these people think or say? Especially if you know they are wrong. Especially if you are proud of the person you are, especially if your family and close friends are proud of you, but most especially if you know God in heaven is proud of you...he knows and sees everything we do, his opinion is the one that matters most.

People will say, it doesn't matter how good you are, they will say! Some people derive joy from badmouthing others...these are people who don't like themselves. If they don't like themselves, how the hell do you expect them to like you? Some people have made up their minds about the kind of person they think you are and nothing can convince them otherwise, nothing!

I've developed a thick skin...the only people who's opinion I care about now are of those who know me well...how can you judge me from afar? Some people have never even met you, they've never spoken to you, but they will tell what they think is your life story like they are family.

If you don't know me, don't talk about me, don't condemn me, don't spread false, hateful rumours, don't judge me, don't say what you don't know. On a second thought, you can say...but it means nothing to me...why should it? You don't matter...

Get to know someone first before making up your mind about who you think they are. And don't judge, who are you to judge? Who died and made you king?

Only a small minded person will judge another based on hear-say or what they read in the papers...that's not enough for you to think you know...

Tuface, Timi, Omawunmi and Nana Abrewa quotes

Tuface quote

On women and fameTuface " I like to take things naturally. Apart from being an artiste, I see myself like anybody else. I just take things naturally. No airs, I'm just myself all the time. On women, they come definitely, but I take it easy". You take it easy and already have two kids from two different women? Tuface, you are a champion!

On when he's getting married"I don't know yet"

On the story that four girls are pregnant for him"Up till now, I don't even know. Make we wait, we still dey count". This is supposed to be a joke?

On the millions of naira given to him by MTV"We dey try, we dey wise up these days. You have the opportunity of watching TV and see them sell shares, see people buy houses, we are learning because investment is the in-thing now". Sensible!

Timi Quote

Did he think he would win?

"I just had a dream that one day something great will happen to me, it's been a long way, but I'm really happy it did happen"

On what got him this far

"I will say God first. And then hard work, and I had a praying grandmother."

His focus on projecting the image of Africa

"It is to uplift that image. They think Africans do a certain type of music in the whole world, they place Africans on a certain level in music. I think I stand a chance to proove the rest of the world wrong.

On the ten thousand dollars he won

"First of all, I will rush to the church and pay my tithe. I will make sure I do all in my power, that what we didn't have when I was growing up, we sure will have now". I wish he had won more cash!

Omawunmi quote

Was she disappointed when Timi won?

"No never! If you watched the top 24, it was Timi and I who scaled through. Even during the auditioning in calabar, Timi and I auditioned together. That was where I fell inlove with Timi's humility. Timi is a great person and a brother indeed, he deserved to win"

Idol West Africa Nana Abrewa quote

On her personal life

"My boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend. You watch movies that tell these stories and you imagine they can never happen in real life. When I confronted him, he said it was the devil that made him do it. When I confronted her, she said it was not her fault. So was I to blame" No sister, you just had a cheating boyfriend and nasty girlfriend!

On her music

"I was the first female Ghanaian to come out with a hip hop album, before that, all the women were singing either gospel or traditional music."

The problem with Ghanaians

"The problem with Ghanaians is that we are attached to our old ways of life. When we get used to one thing, it is very difficult for us to switch to another. If you try to groove to music from the western world, my people will think you are not being real". She said alot but let's stop here...

10 most bizarre people on earth.

1. Ngoc: Three decades without sleep.Sixty-four-year-old Thai Ngoc, known as Hai Ngoc, said he could not sleep at night after getting a fever in 1973, and has counted infinite numbers of sheep during more than 11,700 consecutive sleepless nights. "I don't know whether the insomnia has impacted my health or not. But I'm still healthy and can farm normally like others," Ngoc said. Proving his health, the elderly resident of Que Trung commune, Que Son district said he can carry two 50kg bags of fertilizer down 4km of road to return home every day. His wife said, "My husband used to sleep well, but these days, even liquor cannot put him down." She said when Ngoc went to Da Nang for a medical examination, doctors gave him a clean bill of health, except a minor decline in liver function. Ngoc currently lives on his 5ha farm at the foot of a mountain busy with farming and taking care of pigs and chickens all day. His six children live at their house in Que Trung. Ngoc often does extra farm work or guards his farm at night to prevent theft, saying he used three months of sleepless nights to dig two large ponds to raise fish.

2. Bhagat: had his twin brother on his stomach Sanju Bhagat's stomach was once so swollen he looked nine months pregnant and could barely breathe. living in the city of Nagpur, India, Bhagat said he'd felt self-conscious his whole life about his big belly. But one night in June 1999, his problem erupted into something much larger than cosmetic worry. Mehta said that he can usually spot a tumor just after he begins an operation. But while operating on Bhagat, Mehta saw something he had never encountered. As he cut deeper into Bhagat's stomach, gallons of fluid spilled out — and then something extraordinary happened. "First, one limb came out, then another limb came out. Then some part of genitalia, then some part of hair, some limbs, jaws, limbs, hair." At first glance, it may look as if Bhagat had given birth. Actually, Mehta had removed the mutated body of Bhagat's twin brother from his stomach. Bhagat, they discovered, had one of the world's most bizarre medical conditions — fetus in fetu. It is an extremely rare abnormality that occurs when a fetus gets trapped inside its twin. The trapped fetus can survive as a parasite even past birth by forming an umbilical cordlike structure that leaches its twin's blood supply until it grows so large that it starts to harm the host, at which point doctors usually intervene.

3. Yokoi: Spent 28 years hidden after WWII Shoichi Yokoi was a soldier, conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army in 1941 and sent to Guam shortly thereafter. In 1944, as American forces reconquered the island, Yokoi went into hiding. On January 24, 1972, Yokoi was discovered in a remote section of Guam by two of the island's inhabitants. For 28 years he had been hiding in an underground jungle cave, fearing to come out of hiding even after finding leaflets declaring that World War II had ended. "It is with much embarrassment that I have returned alive," he said upon his return to Japan, carrying his rusted rifle at his side.

4. Mehran: Lives at the Airport since 1988Mehran Karimi Nasseri, also known as Sir, Alfred Mehran, is an Iranian refugee who has been living in the departure lounge of Terminal One in Charles de Gaulle Airport since August 8, 1988. After he was later imprisoned, tortured and expelled from his country, he applied for asylum in many European countries without luck. When he decided to go to the United Kingdom, he claimed that he was mugged, and his shoulder bag stolen while waiting at the RER platform to go to Charles de Gaulle Airport to take a flight to Heathrow. Nasseri managed to board the plane, but when he arrived at Heathrow without the necessary documentation, Heathrow officials sent him back to Charles de Gaulle. Nasseri was unable to prove his identity or his refugee status to the French officials and so he was moved to the Zone d'attente (waiting zone), a holding area for travellers without papers. Nasseri was reportedly the inspiration behind the 2004 movie The Terminal. Unlike Tom Hanks' character in the movie, and since at least 1994, Nasseri does not live in the duty-free transit area but simply in the departure hall, in the circular boutiques and restaurants passage on the lowest floor. He can at least theoretically leave the terminal at any moment, although, since everyone knows him, his departure might not remain unnoticed. He does not seem to speak with anyone normally. With his cart and bags, he almost looks like a traveler, so people either do not notice him or ignore him as if he were a homeless person.

5. Mitsuo: A japanese Jesus Christ Matayoshi Mitsuo is an eccentric Japanese politician with the conviction that he is the God and Christ. According to his program, he will do the Last Judgement as the Christ but the way to do this is totally within the current political system and its legitimacy. His first step as the Savior is to be appointed the prime minister of Japan. Then he will reform Japanese society and then the United Nations should offer him the honor of its General Secretary. Then Matayoshi Jesus will reign over the whole world with two legitimate authorities, not only religious but also political. He has presented himself in many elections but he has not won yet. He has become well-known for his eccentric campaigns where he urges opponents to commit suicide by hara-kiri.

6. Bihari: Most officially dead personLal Bihari (born 1961) is a farmer from Uttar Pradesh, India who was officially dead from 1976 to 1994. He founded Mritak Sangh or the Association of the Dead in Uttar Pradesh, India. He fought Indian government bureaucracy for 18 years to prove that he is alive. When Lal Bihari tried to apply for a bank loan in 1976, he found out that he was officially dead. His uncle had bribed a government official to register him as dead so he would get the ownership of Bihari's land. Bihari discovered at least 100 other people in a similar situation, being officially dead. He formed Mritak Sangh in the Azamgarh district. He and many other members were in danger of being killed by those who had appropriated their property. Nowadays the association has over 20,000 members all over India. By 2004 they had managed to declare four of their members alive. In 2004 he ran for a seat in the parliament of Lal Ganj.

7. Icke: Salvation from Reptilian HumanoidsDavid Icke, is a former professional football player, BBC television sports presenter, and British Green Party national spokesperson. Since 1990, he has been what he calls a "full-time investigator into who and what is really controlling the world.": reptilians. He dresses only in turquoise and sustains that the world was ruled by a secret group called "The Elite": a race of reptilian humanoids, known in ancient times as the Babylonian Brotherhood, and that many prominent people are descended from them, including George W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, and Kris Kristofferson. He believes that descendants of the reptiles engage in child molestation and Satanism. He is the author of 15 books explaining his views. After a five-hour speech to students, he received a standing ovation at the University of Toronto in 1999.

8. Bawden: The self-elected Pope MichaelI, from Kansas Avid Allen Bawden (born 1959), is an American citizen who was elected "Pope Michael I" by a group of six Conclavist or post-Sedevacantist Catholics, arguing that the elections of the last 6 popes were invalid because they are all modernists. Sedevacantists argue that if the College of Cardinals will not or cannot elect a valid pope, ordinary Catholics can do so, under the principle of "Epikeia" (Equity). Acting on the basis of this, David Bawden was elected Pope by six people on 1990 (including himself and his parents). He is still on the job to this day.

9. Nakamatsu: Photographed and analyzed every meal for 34 yearsYoshiro Nakamatsu (born June 26, 1928), a.k.a. Dr. NakaMats, is the Japanese inventor claiming to hold the world record for number of inventions with over 3,000, including the floppy disk and "PyonPyon" spring shoes. He has being photographing and retrospectively analyzing every meal he has consumed during a period of 34 years (and counting). The goal of Nakamatsu is to live over 140 years old.

10. Lotito: Mister eat-it-allMichel Lotito (born June 15, 1950) is a French entertainer. Lotito, who was born in Grenoble, is famous as the consumer of undigestables, and is known as Monsieur Mangetout (Mister Eat-it-all). Lotito's performances are the consumption of metal, glass, rubber and so on in items such as bicycles, televisions, a Cessna 150, and smaller items which are disassembled, cut-up and swallowed. The aircraft took roughly two years to be 'eaten' from 1978 to 1980. He began eating unusual material while a child and has been performing publicly since 1966. Lotito does not often suffer from ill-effects due to his diet, even after the consumption of materials usually considered poisonous. When performing he consumes around a kilogram of material daily, preceding it with mineral oil and drinking considerable quantities of water during the 'meal'. He apparently possesses a stomach and intestine with walls of twice the expected thickness, and his digestive acids are, allegedly, unusually powerful, allowing him to digest a certain portion of his metallic meals.

I'm sitting at home, waiting for my office to get fixed, so I'm just sitting in front of the computer loading up stuff...hope you like some of them.

Dating two guys at the same time.

On my Friday night outing, I saw someone I hadn't seen in a while. She was at Fashion Cafe with a guy whom she later introduced to me as her boyfriend. For some weird reason, every time I see a man and a woman together, especially if they seem intimate or something seems 'off' about them, I look at their fingers to see if I'll spot a wedding ring. This guy was wearing a ring quite alright, but the girl isn't married.

I have met a few girls who have introduced married men to me as their boyfriends. Maybe it's me but I find it very odd.

I don't condone but I understand the need for some girls to date married men...for money. What I don't understand is being in a serious relationship with a man who has a wife and kids. Especially when you've reached marriageable age yourself. Why would any woman in her right thinking mind be in a very serious relationship with a married man who has no intention of taking another wife?

This girl is at least 2 years older than me and I just couldn't understand why she was at a night club, kissing and introducing the guy as the love of her life...it still puzzles me sha!

If he's married, why take him serious? Why not something casual, get what you want and leave as fast as you can, instead of being in a 2/3/4 year relationship with a man whose wife has had two kids for him since you came into his life...I don't understand how some women can let themselves be used that way...

Anyway, that's really not what I want to talk about, just thought to chip that in. What I want to talk about is dating two guys at the same time. During my brief talk with this girl, I asked after a guy I used to know her with, to my surprise, she told me she was still dating the guy but is also dating the married man. She has TWO boyfriends.

I know alot of women who are dating two men at the same time. When you ask them why, their reasons range from, I love him but he can't take care of my needs, so I got myself an aristo. Some say you can't put all your eggs in one basket. Another set of women say they don't believe that God made one woman for one man. Others just like the variety, while some need more than one person to satisfy them completely.

Whatever their reasons, I'm thinking it must be very stressful keeping two men...and being serious with both. It's hard enough having sex with one man, how do you do two? How do you explain your whereabouts to one while with the other guy? All the lies you have to tell, the excuses you have to make, the cover ups.

I know alot of men keep more than one woman in Naija. You'll hardly find a married man who doesn't have a girlfriend, sad story! I guess it's easier for a man to keep more than one woman, just like lawyers, they know how to tell lies...and they almost always get away with it...

But women aren't built that way. God gave us more compassion, honesty, loyalty and made us more monogamous...imagine if all married women conducted themselves in the same manner with their husbands, marriage will cease to make sense.

Contrary to many beliefs, I don't think that many married women cheat. It's just something some men want to belief to justify their own infidelities. God didn't build women like that, that's why it puzzles me when a woman has more than one man in her life...I just don't understand how a girl can handle it. What if she gets pregnant? ok maybe that's lame but what about sharing your emotions, heart, body, mind and soul with two or more men, isn't that a hard life to put yourself in?

I so much believe in one at a time, maybe because I've never been heartbroken, so don't understand the need to cheat or 'not put all my eggs in one basket'.

I'm totally for one woman/one man. If it doesn't work out with the guy, move on and find someone else, or maybe it's just not that easy? Some women have been through hell in the hands of men and have vowed never to give themselves to only one man, in case of disappointment, they have someone else to fall back on...

I don't think you can have peace by dating two people. What about birthdays, Valentine, public outings, mutual friends, how do you deal with those?

Well, I guess it's every man for himself. Whatever brings you happiness and peace of mind is what you should do. If dating two guys or MORE does that, then do it!

Remembering Anne Frank.

I came across this name some weeks ago and I promised myself to find out more about this little girl whose story and writings made a difference in the lives of troubled and rebellious teenagers in the 'Freedom Writers' story. They read her book, which she wrote in form of a diary as a teenager in the Holocaust years in Germany and were inspired to change their lives for the better. Those of you who have seen the movie 'Freedom Writers' know what I'm talking about.

Read her story...

Anne Frank

Anne was was a Jewish girl who wrote a diary while in hiding with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II.

Anne Frank was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt am Main, Weimar Germany, the second daughter of Otto Heinrich Frank (May 12, 1889 – August 19, 1980) and Edith Holländer (January 16, 1900–January 6, 1945). Margot Frank (February 16, 1926 – March, 1945) was her sister. Her given name was Annelies Marie, but to her family and friends, she was simply "Anne"

For her thirteenth birthday on June 12, 1942, Anne received a book which she had pointed out to her father in a shop window a few days earlier. She began writing in it almost immediately, describing herself, her family and friends, her school life, boys she flirted with and the places she liked to visit in her neighborhood. She also refers to changes that had taken place since the German occupation. In some entries Anne provides more detail of the oppression that was steadily increasing. For instance, she wrote about the yellow star which all Jews were forced to wear in public, and she listed some of the restrictions and persecutions that had encroached into the lives of Amsterdam's Jewish population.

In July 1942, Margot Frank received a call-up notice from the Central Office for Jewish Emigration) ordering her to report for relocation to a work camp. Anne was then told of a plan that Otto had formulated with his most trusted employees, and which Edith and Margot had been aware of for a short time. The family was to go into hiding in rooms above and behind the company's premises on a street along one of Amsterdam's canals.

In addition to providing a narrative of events as they occurred, she also wrote about her feelings, beliefs and ambitions, subjects she felt she could not discuss with anyone. As her confidence in her writing grew, and as she began to mature, she wrote of more abstract subjects such as her belief in God, and how she defined human nature. She continued writing regularly until her final entry of August 1, 1944.

On the morning of August 4, 1944, Anne and her family's hiding place was stormed by the German Security Police following a tip-off from an informer who was never identified. the group included at least three members of the Security Police. The occupants were loaded into trucks and taken for interrogation. The members of the household were taken to the Gestapo headquarters where they were interrogated and held overnight.

On August 5, they were transferred to the House of Detention, an overcrowded prison on the Weteringschans. Two days later the eight Jewish prisoners were transported to Westerbork, The Netherlands. Having been arrested in hiding, they were considered criminals and were sent to the Punishment Barracks for hard labor.

On September 3, the group was deported on what would be the last transport from Westerbork to the Auschwitz concentration camp. They arrived after a three days' journey, and were separated by gender, with the men and women never to see each other again. Of the 1019 passengers, 549 people-–including all children under the age of fifteen years-–were selected and sent directly to the gas chambers where they were killed. Anne had turned fifteen three months earlier and was spared, and although everyone from the Achterhuis survived this selection, Anne believed her father had been killed.

Anne with her Family

With the other females not selected for immediate death, Anne was forced to strip naked to be disinfected, had her head shaved and was tattooed with an identifying number on her arm. By day, the women were used as slave labour; by night, they were crowded into freezing barracks. Disease was rampant and before long Anne's skin became badly infected by scabies.

On October 28, selections began for women to be relocated to Bergen-Belsen. More than 8,000 women, including Anne and Margot Frank and Auguste van Pels, were transported, but Edith Frank was left behind. Tents were erected to accommodate the influx of prisoners, Anne and Margot among them, and as the population rose, the death toll due to disease increased rapidly.

Anne was briefly reunited with two friends, Hanneli Goslar (nicknamed "Lies" in the diary) and Nanette Blitz, both of whom survived the war. Blitz described her as bald, emaciated and shivering. Goslar said that although Anne was ill herself, she told her that she was more concerned about Margot, whose illness seemed to be more severe and who remained in her bunk, too weak to walk

In March 1945, a typhus epidemic spread through the camp killing an estimated 17,000 prisoners. Witnesses later testified that Margot fell from her bunk in her weakened state and was killed by the shock, and that a few days later Anne was dead too. They estimated that this occurred a few weeks before the camp was liberated by British troops on April 15, 1945, although the exact dates were not recorded.

The camp, after liberation, had to be burned due to the epidemic, and Anne and Margot were buried in a mass grave, the exact whereabouts of which are unknown.

Statue of Anne Frank, by Mari Andriessen, outside the Westerkerk in Amsterdam.

Anne's father, Otto, the only survivor of the group, returned to Amsterdam after the war ended, to find that her diary had been saved. He had it published in Dutch under the title Het Achterhuis: Dagboekbrieven van 12 Juni 1942 – 1 Augustus 1944 (The Backhouse: Diary notes from 12 June 1942 – 1 August 1944).

It was published as The Diary of a Young Girl and eventually translated from its original Dutch into many languages and became one of the world's most widely read books. There have also been several films, television, theatrical productions, and even an opera based on the diary.

Described as the work of a mature and insightful mind, it provides an intimate examination of daily life under Nazi occupation and in hiding; through her writing, Frank has become one of the most renowned and discussed of Holocaust victims.

Memorial for Anne and Margot Frank at the former Bergen-Belsen site, along with floral and pictorial tributes

Over the years the popularity of the diary grew, and in many schools, particularly in the United States, it was included as part of the curriculum, introducing Anne Frank to new generations of readers.

I'm inspired by this young girl who wrote down her thoughts and experiences despite being faced with the most unfortunate things to happen to man, war and death. Such courage give me strenght.

Monday, 4 June 2007

My New Office

I told y'all a few days ago that I got a new office. Well I did! And I'm so excited about it.

I used to have an office on Oweh Street, Jibowu, Yaba. It was a 2-room office space with a reception area. But then my rent expired and instead of renewing it, I decided to get me a bigger office space, so I can I can employ more people and expand my business.

So now I have 3 rooms and a big reception area, in the heart of Surulere, a stone throw from my house. The best part of my new office is the location, it's just at the bus stop, can be easily located.

I'm still trying to figure out how I can expand my business, what other areas I can delve into, because for now I'm restricting myself to modeling, fashion, events.

Mostly, I want to now concentrate on my Mag, been neglecting it. It's just that it costs a lot of money to put out a Magazine on a monthly basis, it costs 1.2 million to print just three thousand copies, can't afford that every month. But I'm talking to investors and banks...this country is just not very encouraging. But I'm too determined not to let my dream die. It won't!

Anyway, back to my office, I've been home for the last one week, trying to fix the place up...it's costing me an arm and a leg, painting, electrical work, changing keys, buying new furniture etc, but thank God I have a man who cares...he's making life so easy for me...maybe I'll marry him after all lol. Marriage scares the shit out of me...

I'm throwing a small opening party next week Monday, if you wanna come, send me an email and I'll send you the address...

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